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J. R. Sweeten sited Rocksprings in 1891 because of the springs nearby. Also in 1891, the town acquired a post office and was made county seat. The original courthouse built in the town burned in 1897. By 1914 Rocksprings had a population of around 500.

On April 12, 1927, the town was hit by an F5tornado that destroyed 235 of the 247 buildings in the town. The tornado killed 72 townspeople and injured 205, almost 1/3 of the population at the time.[4]

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,285 people, 420 households, and 312 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,064.1 people per square mile (410.0/km²). There were 535 housing units at an average density of 443.0 per square mile (170.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 76.26% White, 1.17% African American, 0.93% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 18.75% from other races, and 2.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 66.69% of the population.

There were 420 households out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 3.58.

In the town the population was spread out with 33.5% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 105.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $19,970, and the median income for a family was $22,614. Males had a median income of $21,369 versus $14,408 for females. The per capita income for the town was $8,957. About 31.7% of families and 38.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 51.6% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over.